The Drop in Global Smartphone Refurbished Market

The first half of 2019 saw a 2% drop in the global smartphone market. As per the counterpoint's research last year the first half of 2018 saw 66 million devices hit the second-hand phone market and this year it dropped to 64.6 million.

Multiple factors were responsible for the drop, including the longer holding of devices from Western Europe and North America, who are the biggest donors of Grade A and B devices.

Grade A and B devices are fine quality used devices. Grade A devices are in near-mint condition, they have an excellent cosmetic level and show next to no signs of previous use.

Grade B is the second-best quality you can expect from a used device. Grade B devices are tested thoroughly and are confirmed to be in working order, you may notice some light scuffing or light scratches on the body.

 Another factor is the shift in strategies of carriers who no longer subsidize the cost of the phone to pursue customers as they earlier used to. Therefore, there are no perceived savings and customers end up paying the full price for the phone through higher monthly bills.

The major factor was the US-China trade war, which has also affected the smartphone market. Huawei ban in the US has affected the ecosystem of smartphones globally. Huawei saw declines in the secondary market outside of China. The same pressures seen on secondary market occurred in the new device sales. The company had endured about a 40% drop in smartphone shipments outside China, however, increased sales in China made up for its drop in international shipments during the third quarter.

For companies such as Apple — for whom 17.5 % of all iPhone sales come from China noticed a drop in sales of Apple. This has created a disturbance in the smartphone ecosystem.

With the upcoming 5G device launch, the ecosystem might recover however the continuity of trade war between the US and China can badly harm the profits. 

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